Fentanyl Pills Sold to Sailor Led to Fatal Overdose

Deadly counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl led to the death of a U.S. Navy sailor in April 2020—and now three men, including a former sailor, are facing federal charges. CHASE FRIEDRICH, 28, of Des Moines, Washington, sold the fake Percocet to IVAN ARMENTA, 20, a then-active Navy member, who passed them to a shipmate who later died in his workspace aboard a Navy vessel. The victim was found April 18, 2020, with two fentanyl-laced pills in his pocket.

Arrested April 21, 2020, FRIEDRICH was caught at his Des Moines apartment, where investigators uncovered cocaine, a loaded handgun, and a bag containing roughly 100 counterfeit pills. His supplier, RAOUL V. NORMANDIA, JR., 28, of Federal Way, Washington, was taken into custody April 24, 2020, just blocks from his home. A search of NORMANDIA’s residence—authorized by court order—unearthed a full-scale drug operation: cocaine, MDMA, multiple firearms, ammunition, body armor, scales, heat sealers, baggies, Moneygram receipts, and twenty cell phones.

The Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) traced the fatal pills from the victim to ARMENTA, who admitted to distributing them. After being discharged from the Navy, ARMENTA was taken into federal custody August 7, 2020. Evidence shows FRIEDRICH supplied ARMENTA with the counterfeit narcotics, which were chemically indistinguishable from real prescription pills but packed with lethal doses of fentanyl.

Now, all three men are named in a federal indictment. NORMANDIA and FRIEDRICH are charged with conspiracy to distribute drugs. FRIEDRICH faces additional counts, including distribution of fentanyl, possession of cocaine and fentanyl with intent to distribute, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. ARMENTA is charged with distribution of fentanyl. NORMANDIA is also charged with possession of MDMA and cocaine with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Each defendant faces a statutory maximum of up to twenty years in prison. The firearm charges carry a mandatory minimum: an additional five-year sentence, to be served consecutively. The case, investigated by NCIS and the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office as part of the West Sound Narcotics Enforcement Team (WestNET), is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lyndsie Schmalz.

The charges are allegations only. CHASE FRIEDRICH, RAOUL V. NORMANDIA, JR., and IVAN ARMENTA are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. But in the deadly world of fentanyl trafficking, the stakes are measured in lives—and one sailor is already gone.

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